Fable Online
by Phoenix Gatling
Summary: Inspired by Sword Art Online. The year is 2022, the worlds first Virtual Reality MMORPG has just been released under the name "Fable Online". In a bad case of "wrong place wrong time" Milo, his two friends and 100,000 other gamers find themselves trapped in this virtual world with only one way out, to beat the game. The only catch? You die here, you die in real life!
1. Prologue

The boy yawned, the pillow he laid on just too comfortable for his own good. Bored he looked over at the calendar at the opposite end of his room. Red X's covering the majority of the dates while near the very bottom a certain box stood, a thick red circle drawn around it.

_"Two more weeks"_ he thought to himself, outside his window was a darkened sky. Leaving him nothing to see except for his lightened room as he laid on his bed.

He then looked down at his stomach, laying flat on his blue shirt was the same article he had read countless times in the last week. Feeling a warm sense of happiness when gazing upon it he decided to do another run through before bed.

_"With likely the biggest entertainment launch in history around the corner, we here at GameInformer would like to take a look back onto where it all started._  
_While the effect on the gaming industry has been wonderful and well felt with the current 9th generation of consoles equipped with virtual reality, only one question was on peoples minds a few years ago. Who will make the first Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (VRMMORPG)? This question was answered when the creator of the NerveGear, (the prime virtual headset device used by all gamers) Adrian Black, unveiled his next big project._

_Black's fondness for the Fable franchise was always apparent to his many gaming fans, but in August of 2019 Lionhead Studios closed its doors. Causing Adrian to make one of the most controversial and now celebrated moves ever known to occur in the industry._

_For an undisclosed sum the multi-millionaire quickly acquired the (at the time) small gaming studio just weeks after it officially shut its doors, due to a severe lack of sales with Fable V. This caught the attention of many big wigs in the industry, including the founder of the wildly successful industry innovator 22 cans, Peter Molyneux._

_"I can honestly say I'm happy for them, ignoring my past history with the studio it's nice to see someone keeping the old rusty machine running" He apparently said at E3 2019 just months after the purchase, though no official recording has never been found._

_Of course as we all know this quickly was overshadowed when in October Black announced likely the most important gaming innovation since the invention of the controller, Virtual Reality. This quickly created a massive wave of excitement among gamers, single-handedly drawing the focused attention of a multi-billion dollar industry or as a anonymous employee of a very popular search engine put it._

_"That day searches for Adrian Black and Virtual Reality on Google shot up over 4000% within 48 hours of the announcement, the highest spike we've ever recorded in our history"._

_Indeed the world seemed to be at Adrian's feet for the next year, right up until the NerveGear's release date alongside the next-gen systems, November 10th 2020. Facing the hype of literally hundreds of millions of people Adrian delivered. Stunning photo realistic graphics with a fully tangible environmental system impressed critics across the board. Getting 10/10s from IGN, Gamespot, 1up, GameTrailers, Destructoid, The Escapist and even the most hardy of reviewers. The one who started his career from Youtube, Angry Joe._

_This release was of course followed by a host of endless games, what the first few lacked in quality was quickly overturned when studio greats like Naughty Dog, Bethesda and even Valve began pumping out top notch titles. Journalist's from all over the industry unanimously declared this the golden age of gaming as a rush of perfectly crafted virtual reality games flooded the market place. That year Adrian Black's net worth shot up to an earth shattering 6.2 billion dollars, instantly crowning him the undisputed champ of the 9th generation of gaming. Though as we all know, this was only the beginning._

_The date is June 7th, 2021, the location is the E3 expo. Now at this point rumors had been circulating quite wildly ever since the name "Fable Online" had been licensed by Lionhead while simultaneously the work force of the studio ballooned to an incredible 1000 developers. Of course no official information had been released until this fateful day, The day that Black announced his new project, the worlds first VRMMORPG._

_For the next year it seemed like the NerveGear all over again, with every human who had an ounce of nerd in them fangasiming over the game and the billionaire. We here at GameInformer like to think this is where Adrian got his internet nickname of "God". The impact was ridiculous, from the nearly dead World of Warcraft to the latest MMO king DiamondFire entire guilds planned moves to Fable Online as more and more stunning gameplay footage was let loose upon the masses._

_Though some of the more hardcore Fable fans found it odd that Black had chosen an altered Fable II world for the setting their fears were quickly resolved when they realized he actually was an active member on the forums. Answering questions on the spot while boasting a post count averaging at 17 posts a day. A level of dedication that hadn't been seen since the dawn of the industry._

_And now here we stand at present time, like all you readers out there our entire team anxiously awaits the launch of this MMO! Due to Adrian's insistence that no reviewers player before the gamers themselves we will be there right alongside all you guys!"_

The boy let the magazine fall flat on his shirt again, a broad smile now stretching across his face as he stared at his ceiling. Dreaming of what a mighty hero him and his two friends would be, the adventures they will have and the people they will meet.

"October 26th, the day my life will finally begin.."


	2. A Far Away World

"TEN!"

"NINE!"

"EIGHT!"

"SEVEN!"

"SIX!"

"FIVE!"

"FOUR!"

"THREE!"

"TWWOOO!"

"OONNNNEEEEEEEE!"

The crowd exploded, a line backed up for over a mile in the midnight streets suddenly burst to life. A whole block seemed to erupt into cheers, people danced around wildly in front of their sidewalk tents, strangers embraced strangers in the universal moment of excitement.  
Fans dressed in Balverine costumes howled into the night, whilst their Hobbe counterparts played sumo wrestler in rounded plush suits. Cosplayers made up the majority with an innumerable amount of wannabe heroes running around, some with actual dogs beside them. Dozens of Scythe's, Theresa's, Reaver's, Guildmaster's, Jack's, Gabriel's, Jaspers, Briar Rose's and Garth's littered the landscape, just to name a few. Even a few Chesty's made their appearance, some as literal giant chests while others opted for the black and white chess board strapped around their waist.

As the head of the snake plunged into the Best Buy, three friends fought their hardest to hold their ground. Shoving and pushing all in their path as they dashed their way to the counter, the smaller one among them quickly grabbing three copies of the game whilst the other two raced ahead with their elbows outstretched. Within a minute they had clawed their way to the cashier, smacking a single credit card onto the flat blue surface of the counter. Less then ten seconds later the order had been verified, the woman at the counter then handed them back the card with a genuine smile on her face.

"Would you like a bag with-"

Already gone.

Bursting out of the exit doors was like being on the wrong side of a highway during the apocalypse, barren. Next to the three boys stood literally thousands of anxious fans, slowly jamming their way into the store while a large unit of cops stood battle ready. Ignoring this the boys dashed forward, plowing their way to the parking lot where numerous oddly painted vans sat parked, each with their own "electrifying" news logo's on the side.

"It has been just minutes since the game has officially launched and already tens of thousands of unit's have been sold across the world!" The female news reporter said, trying to project her voice over the thunderous sound of the event. Suddenly she paused for a moment, placing her hand on her ear.

"Wait….We are receiving word that shortages are already running rampant! New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris…"

Without warning a loud roar erupted from the crowd, without warning the joyous festivities turned sour as a virtual army of fans simultaneously screamed bloody murder. Around them once lackadaisical authorities began to stiffen up and better surround the mob of angry gamers.

"Yes and it now seems even our very own Denver has run dry! This is truly an unparalleled entertainment launch in human history. The uproar and anger for this single device is just-"

Again she was cut off, this time the entire screen was blocked from viewing her. From seemingly out of nowhere a blonde haired boy shoved his face into the camera, his body powered by caffeine and adrenaline as he began to shout at the million strong live audience of the station.

"WWOOOOH FABLE ONLINE!" he screamed into the camera, the news reported next to him stood temporarily paralyzed from the turn of events.

"Damn it Bryce…" a more far away voice said as a hand reached behind the blonde boy's red jacket, quickly pulling him away from the limelight by a grip on the hoodie.

As they ran away from the crowd and approached the edge of the parking lot a third boy stood in the grass, on him a backpack with the three games safely tucked in side. Behind his short body was a thick forest with a multitude of shopping carts and plastic bags littered about.

"You guys alright?" he asked, his long wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes now visible to the two approaching. While the other portion of his body was indescribable thanks to him wearing a long sleeve dark blue shirt and gray jeans in the dark.

"Yeah Bryce was just being an ass to the news people…" said the boy next to Bryce, he had slightly long red hair with a pale complexion and freckles dotted across his face. Contrasting greatly with his dark golden sweater but blending in more with his hazel painted eyes, just an inch under his bumblebee yellow beanie.

"I was just acting like the future greatest hero of strength should act in that situation" Bryce said plainly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Whatever…..Milo you sure you have the games?" the boy asked, keeping his mind calm as he ignored the brazenness of his friend.

"Yeah I just put em' in my backpack, lets hurry!"

"Agreed" The boy responded, they then moved towards the forest.  
What started as a brisk walk through the brush turned into a mad dash for home, fifteen years of age not being enough for the boys to reach a desirable level of maturity yet. Together they ruthlessly tore through the short span of wilderness, crushing twigs and leaves alike as they leap over fallen logs and dodged the mightiest of flora that forest had to offer.

Eventually they entered a quaint little neighborhood, completely empty of all commotion at the exceedingly late hour. The teens ignored this and sprinted along the sidewalk, the sheer of excitement of playing the worlds first Virtual Reality MMORPG becoming to much for their developing bodies to handle. Soon one of them reached a two story home on a street corner, dashing from the sidewalk and through the yard to a rope hanging out of a certain second story window.

"Felix you're too fast!" Bryce yelled from the street as they blonde beanie ascended up the rope.

"Sssshhhh we don't want to wake them up!" Milo said mid-run, shoving his friends shoulder.

Five minutes later and the three were already up and into the room, smoothly sliding the rope back up and quietly closing the window. Once inside Milo undid his back pack and set the three games out on the bed placed in the corner of the bedroom, they all then let out a simultaneously sigh of relief.

"….This is it guys, it's finally here." Milo said as he gave two of the copies to his two friends sitting on sleeping bags next to the bed, massive visor helmets resting against their bodies.

"Couldn't we have just bought this online?" Bryce asked as the other two eagerly opened the disc case and prepared to play the game.  
"It would have sold out before our browser would even have loaded.." Milo said after a few seconds, Felix nodded his head in agreement. Knowing it didn't matter in the least since they already possessed copies Bryce began to put on the helmet.

"Melee, Ranged and Magic right?" Milo asked as he laid down in his bed, the Nerve Gear helmet wrapping tightly around his head as the others did the same on their own respective sleeping bags.

"We'll be like the triumvirate." Felix said happily, being the last thing Milo heard before the helmet cut of his senses and revealed the initiation screen in.

The next few minutes involved the students laying motionlessly with their Nerve Gears equipped, setting up the interface for their adventure. Around them a dimly lit dark room, the only light being that of a desk lamp and the faint glimmer of moonlight trailing in through the window.

"Lionhead studios presents…"

Milo felt goose bumps pulse through his new virtual senses.  
"Fable…..Online" the screen in front of him read, further enticing the anxious feeling that now pulsed throughout his entire body.  
A cinematic began playing in front of Milo, he felt the incredible sensation of flying through the air in a view over Bowerstone. Quickly winding throughout narrow streets and under concrete bridges like a roller coaster. Eventually the camera left the bustling city and flew him at blinding speeds over the forest, soon a dazzling white light began to engulf his vision. The familiar voice of old woman soon came into his mind and in an suddenly a figure from the early generation of fable games appeared.

"But alas, who is the hero of our journey?" Theresa asked, soon a character creation screen appeared before Milo.  
Before him was an ocean of possibilities, literally billions of facial and body combinations could be made. The only options left out were height, weight and muscular build, features that the game will eventually impose on the player depending on how they level up. Despite the limitless potential for customization a particular option caught Milo's eye, in the top left field of his vision a small button sat.  
"Use actual face features?" Milo thought, utterly intrigued by this option.

Without so much as a second thought he selected the button, the idea of playing in another body for hours a day confusing and oddly chilling him. Skipping the entire creation process he was brought to another screen, there three choices and colors stood before him. Melee, Magic and Ranged, before the system could he even fully render it fully.

"Very well, then let the journey begin…..hero" the old feminine voice said as it seemed to fade off into the distance.  
The next thing Milo knew he was blasted with the sensation of wind blowing against his body while the overwhelming sensation of fresh air pouring into his lungs filled his thoughts. All of the sudden an profuse amount of buildings appeared before him. Row upon row of eighteenth century themed homes and shops dotted the cityscape, under them a fair amount of NPC's trying to sell their wares. Outnumbering the NPC's by far was the sheer amount of players in the streets, with more appearing every second to add to the horde.  
"Everyone…one server" Milo thought as he turned his body in all directions.

Behind him was a large clock tower, beautifully lit up in a green aura as it rose proudly in the screen. Around this was the market square, a flat plane at least ten times the size of the original in Fables II and III.

All other buildings stood brightened in up with either lamps or various colored auras, making the city feel alive in the night. In front of him was a large inn with a big wooden sign on it reading "The Cow & Corset" as it hung from the balcony on the second floor. He continued to see more sites as he spun his body around, losing himself in the strikingly real virtual renderings of the world.

"Here yeeh, Here yeeh! I hereby welcome you to Bowerstone!" An NPC yelled, strolling joyously throughout the square while loudly ringing a bell at his side.

Looking down at his body he outstretched and gripped with his hands, he was totally immersed in the world. A wide grin spread across Milo's face, followed by him leaping into the air excitingly.

"Wait, what?" Milo said quickly, turning around after feeling a slapping sensation consume his back.

"Wow you really used your real face?" Bryce asked, his avatar named Valcorn an extremely handsome man with golden blonde hair flowing down to his shoulders.

"Yeah dude doesn't that ruin the point of an rpg?" Felix added in, his avatar named Hayha also portrayed as a chiseled and defined man, his distinct long red hair in place only with all the freckles missing.

Together the three friends stood in the stone paved streets of the market district, making light conversation and jokes while thousands of players appeared in the city. Each more amazed then the last at the stunning beauty and realism of the world.

"Yeah well I'm glad you at least didn't use your real name" Felix said as the three walked along the market bridge, over passing a grand river while multiple NPC's auctioned off their stall wares.

"Doesn't matter we'll call each other by our first names anyway" Milo said as they neared the end of the bridge, simultaneously the presence of a massive gate with guards clustered around it.

"Yeah screw this lets go kill some stuff!" Bryce shouted loudly, charging off towards the opened gate.

After Milo and Felix each shrugged their respective shoulders they chased after their friend, ignoring the NPC guards as they tried to provide them with instructions on the way by.

"H'watch out for bandit H'activity in the area-"

The game system cut him off, the boys now already long past the guard.  
"Woah…." All three of the heroes said simultaneously.

Before them was a massive field, filled with small rolling hills, tiny houses and a plethora of farmland for what looked like miles. On the tops of the small rises in land were small boar-like creatures roaming in packs of no more then three. A wide brick road winded its way through the hills, gradually decreasing in size until it reached a tree line bordering the horizon. This all being visible due to the games advance night lighting system, using the light of a massive moon and an ocean of stars to make the world visible.

"H-How big-g is this game again?" Bryce asked, stuttering his words while his eyes could not release their gaze on the incredibly view ahead of them. His two friends at a similar loss for words.

Suddenly Milo smiled, snapping Felix out of the gaze who also let out a slight grin "We agreed we would do this" he said, turning Bryce's head over to reveal a boy ready to explode with excitement.  
In alphabetical order the boys counted.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

Then all together.

"Let's do this LEEERRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYY JEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNSS SSSSSS!" they screamed as they ran along the road at top speed, heading in the direction of the first boar pack in sight.


	3. The Coming Darkness

_"In other news the highly anticipated VRMMORPG Fable Online has officially launched, stores are being flooded across the world as fans race to get what copies are available. We now go to Jennie Tedder for the live report."_

Denise sank further into the couch, her body snugged against her husbands as they watched the late night news. Her frizzy brown hair resting on the navy blue leather of the lounge while her husbands darker brown hair did the same. Around them was a dark room, the only light from the 60" LED screen that sat plastered against the wall. As the young reporter began to talk Denise spoke up.

"Peter do you think?" she asked, looking deep into the seemingly far away mans eyes. He only responded with a smile.

"It would be pretty out of character for him, though maybe the other two could coax him into doing it. Best buy is only 10 minutes away on foot, maybe they were taking turns waiting the line?" Peter said while keeping his eyes on the TV.

_"It has been just minutes since the game has officially launched and already tens of thousands of unit's have been sold across the world!"_ The woman on screen said, hoards of fans moving wildly behind her.

"That'd explain him being so active lately…" Denise said, now to training her gaze on the TV.

_"Wait….We are receiving word that shortages are already running rampant! New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris…"_ she said while putting her hand on her ear, but before she could continue a loud roar erupted from the crowd.

"Wow everyone seems to be really going crazy over this game" the wife said as he husband only nodded in response.

_"Yes and it now seems even our very own Denver has run dry! This is truly an unparalleled entertainment launch in human history. The uproar and anger for this single device is just-"_ she paused, both Peter and Denise's eyes widened when a brown haired boy ran across the screen followed by face in the camera.

_"WWOOOOH FABLE ONLINE!"_  
_"Damn it Bryce…"_

Both the parents burst out laughing, Denise even fell over on the catch unable to contain the amusement. On the screen the shocked news reporter regained her composure and tried bring back the topic at hand, however the camera man only seemed to turn at the three teenagers who were standing on the edge of the forest. This caused Peter and Denise to laugh even harder.

"Should we let them?" She finally asked after a few minutes of hard laughing, the apparent knock on the back window letting them both know the boys have returned.

"Honey its okay, let them have fun for once he never gets to do stuff like this." Peter said while placing his hands on his wife's shoulders gently.

"All right…" Denise said before sinking back into the couch with her husband as they changed the channel.

Over an hour later the couple still sat in the sofa, Peter already fallen asleep while leaning back in the comfortable leather cushions. Losing her consciousness herself Denise half-heartily flipped through the channels, only minutes away sleep. Finally stopping on CNN to see a boring man wearing a boring tie doing a boring interview, Denise closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them for what she thought would be the last time before succumbing to sleep. Oddly the interview that was once on her screen had disappeared and was replaced with a red banner.

_"BREAKING NEWS!"_  
This was all she needed to see to wake herself.

_"Reports are coming from across the world about people playing Fable Online on the NerveGear suddenly dying."_  
"Dying?" Denise said to her groggy self before the words meaning hit her like a tidal wave of extra large bricks.

Within seconds she had shook her husband awake and pointed at the scream. The two watched in horror as live footage was shown of bodies being carried out on stretchers with authorities holding the crying families back as they watched the smoke rise from their loved ones burnt skulls. The next few moments involved both the parents violently screaming at each other, the only audible word from the ruckus being Milo.

This only lasted for seconds before Peter ran towards the stairs as fast as his body would let him, at the top was a little girl with a doll in her hand staring blankly.

"Daddy?" she asked before the man barely dodged her while ignoring the little girl completely, causing her to tear up while the sounds of a baby crying came in from the other room.

The dad banged on the door loudly while the mom ran up the stairs before reaching the top, twisting her ankle and brutally falling on the mat in front of her crying daughter. Ignoring the pain she forced her body up and began yelling at Peter as he began kicking the locked door with all his might, the wood splintering and the door caving in as endless screams filled the house.

* * *

"Hah…I got em!" Bryce yelled victoriously, the games natural fatigue system causing him to have to catch his breath while his other two friends sat on the grass breathing similarly.

Before them lay three dead boars, there bodies only bleeding for seconds before shattering into countless glass shards and awarding each of the boys equal experience for the battle.

"Damn….were still not even level 2" Bryce said while panting on the ground, a rusty longsword stuck in the dirt beside him.

"Maybe we should do some quests." Felix said in between breaths, a rusted rifle laying on his lap while his arms were outstretched behind his back and planted flat on the smooth grass.

"Damn I just remembered something." Milo said to himself solemnly while his two friends conversed, just barely loud enough for them to hear.

"What the character creation screen?" Bryce said snickering, he then continued before being cut off.

"Or was it that you don't like that you named your hero-"

"No I forgot to pee before full diving, and grandma always said to go pee before bed or else you're going to have a bad time." Milo said while not even making eye contact with the hero, instead pulling up the virtual menu.

"Yeah that's a good point maybe we can take a short five minute break here." Felix said while also pulling up his menu, causing the swordsman to form a pout face.

"Whatever…" Bryce said in between grumbles.

"Guys I think we have a problem." Milo said as he stared wide eyed at his menu screen, getting a weird look from Bryce before Felix joined in.  
"Oh shit this bad." the sharpshooter said worriedly, panicking taking over his once calm personality rapidly.

"What's wrong?" Bryce asked, utterly confused.

"There's no log out button!" Milo said in a hurried voice, rapidly scrolling throughout all the sub sections of the menu while trying to justify the problem.

"Wait is there any other way to log out?" Bryce asked, now looking at Felix while expecting the answers the boy usually had in abundance.

"None of us read the manual…" Milo said as he rubbed his forehead, trying to cope with the problem.

"You guys don't understand this a major problem, this could not only jeopardize the future of Fable Online but the fate of all VRMMO's if they don't fix it fast." Felix said as he closed his menu and sighed.

"I guess we'll have to just wait for an admin" The blonde haired warrior said, his usual confident smile all but gone from his face.

Suddenly a three red pillars of light engulfed the heroes, before they could even speak they were gone, leaving nothing but the faint sound of wind while distant packs of wild NPC animals roamed the plain.


	4. Welcome to Hell

All at once the three smashed hard against the cold hard rock floor of Bowerstone market, each coughing bits of virtual saliva from their avatars. If it had not been that they were in a game a severe concussion would have been highly likely.

"God damn it what the hell was that?!" Bryce asked pressingly while he grabbed his head, expecting a numbing pain. Felix and Milo, however, were already upon their feet and staring at the giant above them.

"W-what is this…" Milo asked with a thick scent of fear crawling about his voice, both of his friends were similarly taken aback.  
The next minute was followed by what looked like tens of thousands of players appearing in the city, bunched up shoulder to shoulder from the now closed front gate to the slithery snake like winding streets extending from the market. All utterly confused and worried until they eventually looked up at the spine crawling site above them.

Once it seemed the like the square would collapse from the weight of all the combined bodies they stopped appearing, 100,000 thousand gamers standing under the colossal figure of one man. Each spreading there own concerned whispers to one and another until an ear splitting boom silenced every soul on the server.

Standing floating above the clock tower was a giant white haired Lucien, clothed in a bright red trimmed black coat stretching down to his dark boots. Boasting a height of over a hundred feet as he stretched into the sky, the lower lights of the clock tower casting ominous shadows upon the man up to his hideous face. The entirety of the skin from the left half of his face gone, replaced with an a bloody skull and a glowing red light gleaming from the eyeless socket.

The titan had a stone cold expression on his face, the shadows only adding to his threatening expression. The explosion of sound from earlier had also caused the sky to have a chilling dark red tint to it. The once kind NPC guards now bore a twisted look on their faces, sadistic smiles with red eyeballs gave off a deathly glare while there normally navy blue outfits were now the color of fresh blood. They stood at the exits around the city, closing in all the players in a half a mile radius.

All of the sudden the giant Lucien began laughing, his massive body twisting and moving as he seemed to be hearing the joke of his life. The entire crowd seemed utterly confused by this, Milo, Bryce and Felix watched with a particularly puzzled look across all three of their faces.

"Why is he laughing?!" Bryce asked worriedly as the titanic Lucien continued to enjoy himself, faint murmurs now going throughout the crowd as they tried to make sense of what was happening.

"Guys!" Felix yelled, but as soon as Bryce and Milo looked it was too late.

Without warning the once ranged hero split into a thousand shards before dissipating in the air, leaving the other two friends speechless. But before Bryce could even ask a question he to shattered like glass, leaving Milo utterly wide eyed and baffled. Around the crowd other players began to break and dissipate similarly, followed by the shocked expressions of literally thousands of their gamer friends.

"Wha-what-" Milo began before being cut off by another thunderous sound.

**"SILENCE!"** Lucien screamed with a sudden rage, instantly shutting all the players up for a second time. A few seconds past and the mans sadistic smile had already returned, at the same time blood began to slowly pour out of his empty eye socket.

**"Welcome...to Fable Online!"** he began.

**"I don't like it wasting to much time so lets make this quick okay?" **he said as he scanned the crowd.

**"To start things off you all may have noticed that the log out button is missing in the menu…"** he said, giving a slight pause as players looked at each and nodded, though still mentally shaken from the sounds prior.

**"I'm sure you'll all be pleased to no that this is no glitch, indeed it is actually the prime feature of the game. You can not log out yourselves!****"** The man said as the smile on his face continued to grow, oblivious to the weight of the words he had just spoken.

Milo was utterly speechless, the shock and pace of recent events to much to take in.

**"As many of you have unfortunately discovered if one tries to disrupt or dismantle the NerveGear to manually log themselves out the device will emit multiple microwaves from its many transmitters using the internal battery. This will fry your brain in the most horrible and painful way imaginable while simultaneously shutting down all your bodies vital functions.** " he said with fiendish glee, striking silence even deeper into the hearts of all the crowd members.

He chuckled.

**"Oh and did I mention you die from that?"** Lucien said with a small laugh.

Milo was now on his knees, completely blown away by the tidal wave of a statement.

"Kill….us?" he softly asked to himself, barely loud enough for any to hear. Elsewhere in the crowd individual screams began to plague the atmosphere when the reality began to dawn on the players.

**"Yes, yes that means all you're friends that shattered are now dead blah, blah, blah, moving on"** The giant said in a mocking yet almost bored tone, suddenly giant screens began to appear in the sky.

**"News stations across the globe are reporting this as we speak, already 3,245 of you have perished from the game prematurely thanks to your friends and families ignoring my warnings…..let us not increase that.."** he said as the screens floated above for all the players to see, showing crying families and white sheet covered bodies being carried away on stretchers. In front of all of it news reporters and cops closed off the areas.

**"...But where are my manners, as your potential executioner it's appropriate that I formally introduce myself. My name is Adrian Black, the creator of the Nerve Gear and lead developer of Fable Online!"**

That was the last sentence Milo heard from the man, the sudden realization of the fate of his two friends hitting him like a freight train. He placed his hands on his head and tried to cope with the situation, how his friends families would take it, how his family would take it, his sister, his baby brother-

**"Now, now don't get all pouty there is but one way to escape this game.."** he said as his eyes began to glow red, causing all 100,000 other players in the square to do the same.

In the minds of every gamer appeared a vision, of a tall black structure in the sea, looking like a bunch of random sharpened rocks jutting out from the ocean. Adrian then began to narrate the scene as players watched.

**"This is the tattered spire, the single object that will decide the fate of the lives of every player of Fable Online"** he said as the spire began to rise in height rapidly.

**"For the only way for you heroes to escape is to stop its construction before it reaches its completion by my hand in exactly 847 days time"** as he spoke the tower reached its pinnacle, followed by it suddenly bursting into a massive fiery light that was shown engulfing the entirety of virtual Albion.

**"Too specific? Well deal with it that's my favorite number!"** he exclaimed loudly as everyone's vision was brought back to Bowerstone, laughing manically while his voice seemed to consume the city.

Without warning he was suddenly engulfed in a massive red pillar of light, shining down like a laser beam onto the clock tower below. Completely disintegrating the structure in seconds and replacing it with a blue light that began to emanate from the ground.

**"This is a Cullis gate, one of only 11 in this world, they will allow you to teleport to and from the ones you have discovered across the world. Though that is not the main purpose, their real design is to be the speed bumps on your journey to kill me"** Adrian said with a seemingly proud smile on his face, he then continued.

**"To gain access to the spire, you will all have to successfully locate and activate the 10 other Cullis Gates around the world, defeating the 10 gods of the world that guard it in the process. While doing this four heroes will be formed among you, and not any of this Melee, Ranged and Magic non-sense either. No they will be the heroes of Strength, Will and Skill, and shall appear in that order. The fourth and final hero will appear at the end after all ten are activated, he will be the master of all three of the disciples and herald the final battle."**

**"Once this is all accomplished this first gate will transform into a main Cullis Gate which will allow transportation to the Spire and subsequently the final boss…..…ME!"** he said with a roaring laughter, striking fear so deep into the hearts of the gamers that even the lifeless and emotionless bits of data called "NPCs" seemed to reflect it.

**"Sounds too easy?"** he asked with a sarcastic smile, happily continuing after a short pause.

**"Well don't worry there is an extra catch for all you hardcore gamers you know I love dearly. If you die in this game, that is to say your health points reaching zero. Then the transmitters inside the Nervegear will emit the same brain frying microwave that your friends receive and hehe yes you guessed it, you die."** he said with joy, though adding in the last two words with a demonic change in voice. Sounding similar to Jack of Blades in Fable: The Lost Chapters.

**"Well this concludes the tutorial for Fable Online, may you strive to be the greatest hero of them all! Oh and one more thing…"** Black said as his Lucien figure drifted higher into the air, becoming less visible the second.

**"Think of it as a parting gift for participating in my game…"** he said as his voice trailed off into nothingness, faint laughter following it as it eventually dissipated completely.

A red light then engulfed the entirety of the square, seemingly emanating from the players themselves it shown brighter then all the game rendered stars combined. When it dissipated after a few seconds the visual shock was felt by all, once handsome and gracious looking heroes quickly turned into much less impressive and sometimes repulsive real face of the average gamer.

The ratio of male and female shifted dramatically once this happened, with what first seemed like 50/50 for the genders quickly changed to a scary 80% males. This in turn caused many players to freak out on top of what they had already been revealed to them. Those who didn't panic and run wildly in the streets collapsed onto the grown in a broken mental state while others shouted curses and words of profanity as they seemed to lose all sanity. Milo in particular lay on the ground with virtual tears streaming down from his eyes onto the ground in small droplets.

Yet as if nothing was happening the NPC's of the town returned to normal, the guards and shop keepers remaining as friendly as ever as shocked players literally began to lose their minds in front of them. The sky to, had changed back to normal with a plethora of stars once again gracing across the sky while bright and cheerfully lit lights filled the streets. In the center of all this was the new Cullis gate that sat endlessly pulsing blue light where the clock tower once was, cracks formed in the stone around it.

* * *

The neighborhood was in shock.

On a quaint street corner multiple flashing ambulances were parked, yellow tape was placed around the entirety of the scene. Outside this over a hundred people stood in their pajamas, watching horrified as two stretchers emerged from the house with body bags on top of them.

Suddenly a deranged woman burst from the crowd, ducking under the tape while running screaming at one of the bodies. Tears flowed in large amounts out of her eyes while her face seemed mentally broken. Her screams were inaudible as she dashed towards the body bag, police officers had to step in and hold her back while she clawed at the ground under her.

Inside the home was a similar grim atmosphere, the door of Milo's room lay shattered on his bedroom floor. Inside two paramedics stood over the remaining boys body, the bulky helmet wrapped around its head showing a small green light every few seconds to show he is still connected. The distraught father sat on Milo's bed with his hands around his head, small tear drops dropping into the carpet as he silently wept. Peter was almost too disoriented to notice one of the paramedics approaching the Nervegear wire plugged into the wall.

"W-what are you doing he'll die!" he asked urgently as he prepared to tackle the man, how ever he was stopped by the other paramedic who then spoke up.

"Black has guaranteed us a five hour grace period to transport the patients to professional medical care, do not worry this has already been proven to be a reliable across the world." the man said while looking the father sternly in the eyes.

Like a puppet getting its strings cut Peter fell back to his seat on the bed, watching from sobbing eyes as the two men loaded his fifteen year old son onto the stretcher and carried him out of the room. As they passed through the remains of the door a small girl stood in the hallway, her long brown hair decorated in pigtails as she stood wide eyed with a teddy bear to her side.

"Daddy?" she called out as the men dressed in white and red walked passed her with her older brother lying unconsciousness.

Peter did not even respond, not able to bear to look into his own daughters eyes after the recent events. Mentally torn about causing the death of two children. Outside the room the faint sounds of a baby crying could be heard, while Denise paced frantically in the kitchen as she watched her son being hauled away into the ambulance. Her face already dried from all the crying, now just a husk of black circles sagging under her eyes. Everything seemed to be broken for them, their lifestyle under siege.  
For that day was the darkest, and one of the last, in the once happy families history.

* * *

Milo awoke in the same spot he had ran off to after the announcement, sitting back against the stone wall under the market bridge. He held his hands around his legs in a fetal position while keeping his head down. Outside the sky had begun to brighten slightly, signifying a coming twilight. He did not wonder why he had disappeared for a few hours, likely because he already new he would have to be transported to a hospital and it made him think of his life at home…

He swallowed a lump in his throat, banishing the thought into the deepest recesses of his mind as he closed his eyes and began to whimper like a lost orphaned puppy.

No friends.

No family.

No guild mates.

No home.

Milo was utterly alone in the world, even the smallest bits of contacts he managed to keep in the world severed for what looked like ever. For even if he were die at that very moment, not a single soul in Albion would know or care. He was a ghost, nothing more then a small ant getting swept up in the tornado of a world much larger then he could ever hope to challenge.

_"No." _The boy thought, the rage growing inside him exponentially.

Something opened up inside him, a new door. Suddenly he felt a immense rage pile up inside his mind, he then immediately released his body from the fetal position and stood up.

_"He killed Felix."_

_"He killed Bryce."_

_"He tore my life apart._"

Milo was now walking up the stone stairs and onto the market bridge, gritting his teeth harshly while his long brown hair covered his eyes in pitch black shadow. He kept his gaze trained ahead as he marched coldly across the stone expanse. Beside him were numerous players in all sorts of broken mental states, some even bordering insanity as they clutched there faces and hid their bodies in corners as if to make it all go away.

Soon he reached the gate, completely ignoring the friendly guard who tried to give him tips as he braved the open path. As he walked his hands slowly began to light up in a blue light, simultaneously he began to grunt angrily.

"Adrian Black…" he began as he ventured far off from the city, a hundred in front of him a devilish looking wolf began to run his way.

"I…" he said while still walking with his hands alight, the wolf closing in rapidly.

"Will…." Milo continued, the wolf now just feet from his body. Leaping at the boy with a strong murderous intent.

"KILL YOU!" he yelled as he used his blue lit right hand to grab at the creatures throat, slamming it to the rocky path with an immense amount of force. As he did this a blue pillar erupted around him, sending out a small shockwave as the beast disintegrated into a thousand shards.

Cold and unwavering Milo continued on the path, ahead of him the sun had just peaked over the horizon. This removed the shadow blocking the top half of his face, revealing gritty yet determined eyes. Above this was his health bar with a six letter word riding on top of it, the name of a newly born hero.

"Apollo."


End file.
